The National Basketball Association (NBA) has sent a letter to the acting chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Caroline D. Pham, highlighting concerns about the advancement of sports betting markets.
In the letter, the NBA analyzes the potential risks to the integrity of the games, resulting from the growth in the sector through self-certification, without formal regulatory oversight.
In recent years, the industry has seen rapid expansion. Previously, sports betting markets only involved bets related to the entire NBA season.
Now, they also cover individual matches. This scenario has prompted discussions about possible niche markets, such as those that evaluate the performance of specific players or refereeing decisions in real time.
Bets in the NBA
While sports betting is regulated by state laws, betting markets remain largely outside of these regulations.
The NBA explains that unlike regulated betting, which requires approval from state regulators to launch new markets, sports prediction markets operate on a self-certified basis. This leaves the CFTC responsible for any questions about the integrity of the games.
The lack of specific requirements for sports prevents exchanges and brokers from passing on information about suspicious activity, which limits their ability to collaborate with leagues on investigations.
As there is no mandatory reporting, the NBA understands that monitoring risks and adopting preventive actions becomes more difficult in a context of popularization of prediction markets.
According to the NBA: “This regulatory gap makes it difficult to monitor risks and address potential issues as these markets gain popularity.”
Finally, the entity requests that the CFTC hold further discussions to develop regulatory measures that protect the integrity of games. In this way, it seeks to ensure greater transparency and security in this constantly evolving scenario.
About the basketball league
The NBA is the world’s leading professional basketball league. Founded in 1946, it has 30 teams, 29 from the United States and one from Canada. During the season, each team plays 82 games. Finally, the playoffs and the NBA Finals take place.